313: The beginnings of the Fourth Calamity

"Zhang San, although you committed no great evils in life, you were constantly involved in petty theft. You are guilty and must serve thirty years before you can enter Reincarnation."

"No! I have been walking on thin ice my whole life, I... mmm!"

Before he could finish, he was slapped across the mouth with a Mourning Staff by the White Impermanence beside him, and then dragged away by a Ghost Messenger with an Ox-Head.

"Next, step forward quickly."

Another person was brought to the center of the court.

"This one doesn't need a trial, drag him away directly."

"Eh? No trial at all?"

The man looked bewildered.

He had just woken up and arrived here, and the situation looked very much like the legendary Underworld.

Observing the previous proceedings, it seemed that punishment or Reincarnation was decided based on the good and evil of one's life.

But even those who had committed murder and arson before him had been interrogated; why was he being taken away without even a trial?

Naturally, he was indignant and began to shout loudly.

The man on the dais sneered upon hearing this and waved his hand to signal the Horse-Face Ghost Messenger, who was about to drag him down, to pause.

Then, the man walked down from the high platform and stepped out of the shadows. When the person below saw his face clearly, he was greatly shocked.

"Zhao Goudan, you beast!"

"Being a dog for the company, how many people coming to the East Region have you scammed? Do you not have a clue in your own heart?"

"You even damn well participated in the cleanup operation this time and became a commander!"

"Don't you know what you did during those days in the Pastoral Area?"

"You war criminal, I sentence you to five hundred years!"

The man named Zhao Goudan was filled with shock after seeing the other person's appearance clearly.

He could never have imagined that a person he had once oppressed and driven to the Pastoral Area, and eventually brutally murdered—his 'good fellow countryman' Inspector Ge—would actually be sitting here today.

"You... didn't you just die? On what grounds can you be an official?"

"I refuse to accept this! This is using a public position to settle a private grudge, I refuse to accept it!"

Inspector Ge didn't bother with him further this time, only waving his hand to signal for him to be dragged away.

Then, he continued with the next case.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yan, watching all this thriving activity, was currently sitting on Holy Son Peak, resting leisurely.

All of this had happened a week ago.

At that time, Zhou Yan had already finished building the main city, even reserving positions for newbie monsters and NPCs.

As for where the monsters would come from?

Wasn't Wilde right there?

By now, the true development method for the "path of evolution" had finally become clear.

In the future, those who were truly wicked would be stuffed directly inside and given a monster panel, letting them slowly pay off their debts.

Not only could he earn a bit of Karma, but it could also produce some experience, bringing benefits to the residents of the city.

As for those entering the Reincarnation Path, he would use Power Of Faith to reshape a body for them, also giving them a monster panel, and once they had cleared their sins, he would send them to Reincarnation.

In any case, those who could be demoted to monsters were conservatively estimated to be sentenced to several decades or more.

The revenue they produced during their time as monsters was already enough to cover the consumption of Power Of Faith.

Under Zhou Yan's research, the panacea-like 'Crystal' was still playing a role; it seemed to work in coordination with Power Of Faith in a certain proportion. Although they couldn't be directly exchanged for each other, combining them made them more durable and lower in cost.

In the future, unused experience points could be converted into Crystals and then mixed with Power Of Faith to generate the Materials and experience needed by the city residents.

Using Power Of Faith alone would deplete it, and using experience points alone wouldn't allow for accumulation.

But combining the two resulted in a considerable, synchronously growing income.

With this perfect start, Zhou Yan exerted his strength directly, using the large amount of Power Of Faith stored in the statue to first retrieve the Souls of over a hundred thousand people.

Although this world had an Underworld, there were very few records of it. Zhou Yan only knew that the Underworld also had a Yinsi, and it seemed the Yinsi was the territory of Gui Xu among the Six Demonic Sects, while Wrath Prison also seemed to be in the Underworld.

However, he hadn't seen many Souls being officially recovered; more often, Souls went to the beyond on their own.

The only Ghost Messenger he had ever seen was Hun Wushang, but that person only captured Souls to Cultivate and didn't play any positive role.

So, even if it might lead to some involvement with Gui Xu or Wrath Prison, it didn't matter.

When you have too many lice, they don't itch anymore; there were already plenty of people staring at him anyway.

Among these hundreds of thousands of Souls, a group of people from the Pastoral Area caught Zhou Yan's attention.

They belonged to two organizations, one of which was similar to the Fobole forces in the Pastoral Area, and the leader was named Inspector Ge.

This person's life record was clean. According to Mo Ran, the Pastoral Area was originally a place of greatness similar to Florida.

To be able to maintain one's integrity in such a place, his character was indeed rare, and his ability was also quite good.

According to the records, he was a mixed-blood of West River and the East Region. His father came from the East Region and met his then sixty-year-old mother. The two fell in love at first sight and soon had a child.

But because his father was an East Region person who found it difficult to Cultivate, and his mother was only a Qi Refining Cultivator whose lifespan did not exceed a hundred, both parents passed away one after another when Inspector Ge was forty.

At that time, his cultivation had already reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Even though he only reached Foundation Establishment at forty, Zhou Yan knew best how difficult it was to Cultivate without a good path for advancement. To be able to Cultivate to Foundation Establishment in a remote area was already considered having a bit of talent.

Later, he was deceived by a fellow countryman and went to the East Region in his youthful aggression, only to have his Spiritual Root harvested and be banished back to the Pastoral Area.

But he was also ambitious; originally struggling on the brink of life and death, he managed to regain his cultivation through sheer willpower.

Climbing all the way up, he eventually became the Fobole Sheriff of the Pastoral Area, managing a group of people with experiences similar to his own.

Although the Pastoral Area was chaotic, he protected his jurisdiction in his own way, working diligently, which could be considered a minor legend.

Such a talent was directly hired by Zhou Yan as a Judge to screen Souls for him. Thus, Zhou Yan was able to be liberated from this matter.

At the same time, Zhou Yan handed the Land Seal to Mo Ran so he could better manage the city, and informed him about the matters of the Yinsi.

Since the Land Authority could lead the Souls of the dead, his Land Temple, which was also the newly built grand cathedral in the center of the city, could itself serve as a passage to receive the deceased.

Even people in the main city could return to Grace City in reverse through this passage via the Yinsi, achieving the miracle of "resurrection."

Of course, this was only temporary.

Zhou Yan still needed them to "work," and staying outside for a long time consumed a great deal.

But unexpectedly, after people learned they could occasionally return to visit their families, they worked even harder on constructing the main city, which made Zhou Yan somewhat delighted.

As for the other Judge, Zhou Yan was quite surprised.

This person was recommended by Mo Ran and was named Chu Tianci.

After learning about his past, Zhou Yan was initially a bit repulsed; after all, no one likes a double-dealer.

But after Mo Ran clarified his true character, plus Qing Xuan saying some words behind the scenes about the character analysis of Chu Tianci, Zhou Yan resolutely appointed him as a Judge responsible for reviewing the deceased.

Zhou Yan also conveniently brought the Souls of his wife and child to the "God's Kingdom."

Chu Tianci was gratefully moved to tears upon learning this, swearing to follow him to the death, even if it meant Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, he would not regret it.

Zhou Yan even received a Tier 3 material because of this, Soul Tears.

In this way, a gradually improving Yinsi system was quickly constructed.

Subsequent positions such as Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence, Ghost Messengers, and Day and Night Patrol Gods were all left for them to recruit on their own.

After also temporarily handing the City God Seal to Qing Xuan to let it "work," Zhou Yan finally had a rare moment of leisure.

Over at Grace City—oh, it can't be called Grace City anymore, it should be called "Taiyi City."

Zhou Yan originally wanted to give it another name, but was stopped by Qing Xuan and had to continue using this one.

Nowadays, Taiyi City is managed by Mo Ran and Yuan Chenling; although it's busy and troublesome, it has nothing to do with Zhou Yan.

The Yinsi side is handled by Qing Xuan, Inspector Ge, and Chu Tianci; it's also busy and troublesome, and likewise has nothing to do with him.

The only thing Zhou Yan has to do now is watch the main city run normally, and under the guise of "helping them gather manpower for shifts"... slack off.

Of course, Zhou Yan didn't completely wash his hands of everything.

He already had some considerations regarding personnel, just waiting until he had rested enough to go down the mountain and make arrangements.

However, he always felt something was not quite right.

Logically, since his home had been raided, why hadn't that guy named Wang Defu come yet?

Zhou Yan also wanted to try out what level he would be at against a Nascent Soul Cultivator in Taiyi City with the support of the City God Authority.

Since he wasn't coming, Zhou Yan decided to go and gather some manpower first.

He clapped his hands, did a kip-up to get on his feet, and flew out toward the mountain gate.

Rimian City.

"Brother, you must help me. My son is dead, and I cannot let this go!"

Wang Defu looked at the man opposite him who was currently smoking Spirit Tobacco, blowing out clouds and mist.